Teen dragged by van will get $32.5M

A Brooklyn teen who suffered third-degree burns and traumatic injuries to his genitals when he was struck and then pinned under a school safety van in 2014 has been awarded $32.5 million by a jury.

Manuel Lassalle was in the crosswalk between Coney Island Ave. and Ditmas/18th Ave. in Brooklyn on Nov. 11, 2014, when city worker Ameerah Bonaparte hit him with the van.

The boy, who was 13 at the time of the incident, was dragged nearly 100 feet and stuck underneath the vehicle for almost five minutes — during which he was burned by the hot engine and exhaust system — before he was freed by a passing tow truck driver.

Lassalle, who was legally crossing the road shortly after school finished for the day, sustained second- and third-degree burns on 9% of his body, including on his genitals.

“This young man, who is in college now, has permanent scars (and) required three surgeries to the scrotum area to try to repair the damage when he was burned by being stuck underneath this vehicle for four to five minutes after it dragged him 98 feet,” the boy’s attorney Sanford Rubenstein said.

“Not only does he have permanent scarring, physical injuries, he also has emotional injuries for what happened to him.”

The jury awarded $1 million in damages for medical malpractice for what it determined was a series of botched surgeries performed at Jacobi Medical Center, resulting in the need for corrective surgery.

“The pain and suffering (are) unimaginable that this young man suffered,” Rubenstein said.

In a statement, the city Law Department called it “a tragic incident,” but added that “we respectfully disagree with the jury’s verdict, which we believe does not reflect the correct apportionment of liability under the circumstances. We are exploring the city’s legal options.”